Dining downtown last week at lunchtime, Cooper said he was concerned about getting out of downtown by 5:25 p.m. for his return trip home. Missing that bus means he might as well wait an hour, he said.

"I transfer, so I either get that bus, or I wait," Cooper said, adding that sometimes it is quicker to call his wife and have her pick him up in the couple's car than use the bus to get back to their Westbury home.

The challenges of eliminating congestion and getting Cooper home are not as far apart as they might seem. Today's problems are only going to get worse as the Houston region grows, huge job centers spread across the area and people look to cross a larger, denser city.

Texas Department of Transportation officials last week in San Antonio held the first of eight statewide presentations on a long-term transportation plan for the state.

The goal of the Texas Transportation Plan 2040 is to outline how the state will tackle road, maritime and aviation needs in the future, along with pedestrian and bicycle access. A presentation of the plan is scheduled Wednesday in Houston at TxDOT's district office.

Regional officials are also compiling comments for the Our Region 2040 project, after a series of public meetings. Those who wish to comment have until Friday to submit their opinions.

More Information

If you go

Texas Transportation Plan 2040 presentation

Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

TxDOT Houston District Office

7600 Washington Ave.

For more information on the Our Great Region 2040 plan.

www.ourregion.org/

State and local officials said residents, community groups and businesses can help set the tone of the plans by saying in vague terms what they want Houston to be, so planners and elected officials can work to get it there.

Informed decision

"This information will allow decision-makers to make informed investment decisions to meet the most needs with the limited funding we have available," said Casey Dusza, deputy project manager for the long-range plan. "Telling us that your priority is 'my road should be four lanes, not two,' indicates that your priority is additional capacity on the highway system for you to travel on with less congestion."

Putting together a large project, such as a freeway interchange, can take years. Widening a freeway, especially one within the urban area, can take far longer. Loops, such as the Grand Parkway, can take decades.

Those plans are plotted based on current needs and expected demand. Dusza said current observations can provide a long-term guide.

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"Our idea is to set a horizon or road map, no pun intended, of where the region's transportation system should be," said Jeff Taebel, director of community and environmental planning for the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

As discussions proceed, the suggested plans will become more specific, officials said. By design, plans that focus on 2025 to 2040 are written to morph and adjust, including in how future projects are paid for.

$7.3 billion in revenue

The state brings in about $7.3 billion in revenue annually for transportation, more than one-third of which comes from federal sources. Because of previous bond programs, Texas is spending about $9.3 billion on road and rail projects each year.

"More people are looking at more flexibility," said Katherine Turnbull, executive associate director of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. "They'll use local funds to spend in more varied categories."

That will give Texas and the regions more control of how they use not only local dollars, but which types of federally backed projects they spend years planning to build. Those decisions will build off the regional plans.

With technology advancing so rapidly, Turnbull said it is a critical time to be considering long-range plans.

'Game-changers'

"I think there are some potential game-changers right now, more than what we have faced in the past," she said, noting self-driving cars and safer vehicles are altering transportation planning now and will increasingly factor in the future.

"I think the safety angle is a big push of what's going on," she said.

Still, the plans cannot rely too much on things that are undetermined, warned Carol Lewis, director of the Center for Transportation Training & Research at Texas Southern University.

"How do you plan for something you do not have?" Lewis said. "(A long-term plan) is not a dream, it is something you can take concrete steps to implement."

In many cases, that is translating current issues, like riding the bus or contending with trucks in rush-hour traffic and looking for ways to solve them over the long haul.

"I think you are going to see a lot more thinking about how to best move freight and passengers across the state," Lewis said of the state plan. "The increased dialogue of a plan is a wonderful entry to get us to that place."